The Trial of Charles Taylor

2:30pm: Court resumed after lunch break and Jabati Jaward continued his testimony.

The witness testified about Sam Bockarie’s departure from Buedu to Liberia when he fell out with Sankoh. The witness explained the trip to Liberia and the various fighters, senior officers and civilians that left with Bockarie for Liberia. He spoke about how they were informed that Bockarie is no longer a member of the RUF. The witness explained that those of them who followed Bockarie were later recruited into various arms of the Liberian security forces. Witness and some of his colleagues were recruited into the Anti Terrorist Unit(ATU), where the witness rose to the position of Captain. The witness testified about his various responsibilities in Liberia, how Sam Bockarie later left Liberia and how himself and some of his colleagues were taken out of Liberia and landed in Burkina Faso.

The court adjourned for the day.

12:00PM: Court resumed and Witness Jabati Jaward continued his testimony.

The witness was made to identify a photo which he said was Sam Bockarie’s house in Buedu. He identified the store where he said arms and ammunitions were kept and the room which he said housed the radio communication set. The witness spoke about Bockarie’s visits to Liberia and the radio communications he had with radio operators in Liberia. The witness spoke of the arms and ammunition which were supplied to Issa Sesay for the capture of Kono from ECOMOG forces. The witness was shown a document which listed supply for arms to Issa Sesay. Legal arguements ensued over the witness’s statement that he had not see the document before but could identify the items listed on it.

The court adjourned for lunch.

Thursday July 10, 2008: 9:30am: Court resumes and examination of witness TF1-388, Jabati Jaward Continues.

The witness continued his examination, led by prosecutor Mohamed Bangura. The witness made a brief recap of the issues he testified about yesterday. He spoke of the percel of diamonds that Sam Bockarie gave to Jungle from Liberia as well as explaining the duties of the Black Guard. The witness spoke about the delegates that went with Sankoh for peace talks to Abidjan and explained that when Sankoh was arrested in Nigeria, the other delegates were later arrested by Bockarie for planning to overthrow Sankoh. The witness spoke about Bockarie’s retreat to Buedu when ECOMOG revoved the AFRC from power and that he(the witness) later joined Bockarie there and was appointed store keeper at Bockarie’s house. He spoke about arms being kept in the stores in Buedu and Kundowahun and Bockarie’s visits to Liberia. The witness also mentioned names of Liberian commanders who escorted arms and ammunition to Buedu from Liberia. He was made to identify Bockarie’s house in Buedu in a photo.

Court adjourned for mid-morning break.

July 9, 2008: The court resumed at 9:30am with continuation of the testimony of TF1-388, Jabati Jaward.

Prosecutor, Mohamed Bangura made a brief recap of the issues that the witness testified about yesterday and then led the witness on specific issues covering the witness’s membership of the RUF.

Operation Top 20

The witness testified about the Top 20 operation, which was a battle between the Sierra Leonean and Liberian factions of the RUF in Kailahun District. The witness stated that during this operation, many civilians were killed including the witness’s grandmother. The witness said that even before the Top 20, RUF commanders had been killing civilians in Kailahun. He made specific reference to Sam Tua, who killed five civilians for delaying to bring the ferry to take him to the other side of the Moa river. The witness said that before and after the Top 20, Liberian commanders took leadership positions in the RUF on rotational basis. He said these commanders were appointed by Charles Taylor.

Diamond Mining in Kono

The witness testified about the capture of Kono by the RUF in 1993 and how Sankoh visited the town. The witness said that that diamonds mined in Kono were regarded as sole property of the RUF.

Killing of RUF Commanders

The witness said that at some point, he was assigned to the Military Police (MP) Unit of the RUF where he worked as investigator. The witness said that during this time, certain RUF commanders were accused of conniving with the enemy and were therefore investigated. He said that before the investigations were completed, other commanders like Issa Sesay, Sam Bockarie and Mohamed Tarawally took the accused persons and executed them. He said Sankoh gave orders for the executions to be carried out. Among those executed were CO. Rashid, Jaffer Massaquoi, C.O Charles, the witness’s cousin Kaifa Wai, and Sankoh’s girlfriend Jande, among many others. In describing the way the accused persons were killed, the witness said they were tortured to death and some had hot oil thrown on them. He said kaifa Wai was beheaded.

RUF Embarks on Jungle Warfare

The witness said that in 1993, government soldiers overran RUF positions in the big towns. He said that Sankoh decided that the RUF should change their strategy and embark on jungle warfare. The witness said that various jungles were established such as Zogoda, Western Jungle, Peyamah Jungle, etc. He said that Zogoda, where Sankoh was based, became the headquarter jungle of the RUF. The witness said that in 1996, when Sankoh travelled to Abidjan for peace talks, government troops attacked and destroyed Zogoda. Mohamed Tarawaly who had be put in charge of Zogoda in Sankoh’s absence, dissapraed. Sam Bockarie then became the RUF Battle Group Commander.

RUF Diamond Mining

The witness testified about RUF diamond mining activities in Tongo and around the Peyama Jungle. He stated that Sam Bockarie was the commander in the Peyama jungle and in Tongo, Pa Abdul was the mining commander. He said that Pa Abdul handed all diamonds that were mined over to Sam Bockarie who in turn handed them over to Sankoh. He said that other mining commanders like Mohamed Konneh, Alpha Turay, etc used to hand diamonds over to Sam Bockarie.

Witness’s Relationship with Sam Bockarie

When Bockarie became Battle Group Commander, the witness became Bockarie’s clerk. The witness said that his duties included writing orders for Bockarie, monitoring his radio communications, taking notes for him in meetings, etc. The witness said that when ULIMO forces blocked the border between Sierra Leone and Liberia, thus cutting off the route for RUF supplies, Bockcarie tried to negotiate with the ULIMO troops. The witness said that the ULIMO troops traded arms with the RUF at this time. While he monitored Bockarie’s radio communications, the witness said he knew of Bockarie’s radio contacts with Sunrise, who was radio operator for Benjamin Yeaten in Liberia. The witness said that in 1998, he saw Junglle visit Sam Bockarie from Liberia. He said that Jungle had paid similar visit in 1994. He said that when jungle visited in 1998, he brought a truck load of ammunition from Liberia for the RUF. He said he saw Bockarie give Jungle a percel of diamonds to take to Liberia. He said Bockarie told Jungle that the diamonds were for Taylor. The witness said that he later went to Daru where he remained till the ECOMOG intervention againts the AFRC took place.

The clourt adjourned for the day.

2:30pm: Court resumed after lunch break and prosecution continued the examination of witness TF1-388, Jabati Jaward in open session.

The witness spoke about diamond mining in the Tongo Fields and around the Peyama Jungle. Witness said all diamonds that were mined were handed over to Sam Bockarie who in turn handed them over to Foday Sankoh. Witness spoke about his duties as Clerk to Battle Group Commander Sam Bockarie. He also spoke about Bockarie’s radio comunications with Sunlight, a radio operator working with Benjamin Yeaten in Liberia. He testified about diamonds that were handed over to Jungle who in turn took them to Liberia.

Court adjourned for the day.

12:00pm: Court resumed after the mid-morning break with a continuation of the examination of Witness TF1-388, Jabati Jaward.

The witness continued his evidence on the execution of the RUF commanders who were accused of conniving with the enemy. He said that it was Sankoh who gave orders for their executions. The witness spoke about the change of title for the Mansion Guards to that of the Black Guards. The witness explained how government troops forced the RUF to retreat to the Liberian border in 1993 and how Sankoh gave orders for the RUF to move into the jungles, where they establsihed various jungles including Zogoda, Western Jungle, etc. The witness said that Zogoda became the RUF headquarter in the jungle and that when Sankoh went for peacetalks in 1996, government troops attacked Zogoda and Mohamed Tarawwaly went missing. Sam Bockarie was then made the Battle Group Commander of the RUF.

Court adjourned for lunch break.

Wednesday July 9, 2008. 9:30am Session. Court resumed in open session with the examination of witness TF1-388, Jaward Jabati.

Prosecutor Mohamed Bangura took the witness on a brief recap of the witness’s testimony given in open court yesterday.

The witness spoke about the Top 20 operation which was a battle between the Sierra Leone and Liberian groups of the RUF. The witness said that during this operation, civilians were killed including his own grandmother in Mende Keima. The witness stated that the Liberian commanders were sent to Sierra Leone on a rotational basis by Charles Taylor.

The witnsss spoke about his work as an investigator in the Military Police (MP) unit of the RUF. He testified about incomplete investigations that were conducted by the MP unit and how other commanders like Issa Sesay, Mosquito and Zino killed many of the investigated persons including Kaifa Wai, Rashid, CO Kargbo, Jande, who happened to be Sankoh’s girlfriend among many others.

Court adjourned for mid-morning break.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008: Defence cross-examination of Witness TF1-567 continued and defence counsel asked several questions covering different areas of the witness’s testimony.

Lome Peace Agreement.

Defence Counsel asked several questions relating to the selection of delegates to represent the RUF at the Lome Peace talks, the delegation’s transit in Liberia, the delegation’s constant communication with other RUF members in Sierra Leone, the flight the took the delegation from Liberia to Lome and how Sankoh and Johnny Paul Koroma travelled to Freetown from Monrovia.

In his response, the witness said that the meeting to select RUF delegates for the Lome Accord was conducted by Mosquito and not Omrie Golley. The witness also dsiputed defense claims that a Nigerian flight took the delegates to Lome from Monrovia. According to the witness, it was a UN flight. The witness stated thet while members of the delegation were not supplied radio sets in Liberia, they communicated with Mosquito through the radio that they had left Sierra Leone with. Witness stated that he had no idea about Sankoh writing a letter to a Mohamed Talibi for the purchase of weapons while the peace negotiations were taking place in Lome. The defence suggested that after the signing of the Lome Accord, there were no reports of Taylor sending arms and ammunition to Sierra Leone. Witness claimed that Taylor did.

Diamond Sales by Ibrahim Ba  and The witness

Defence counsel suggested that while in Liberia, the witness and Ibrahim Ba were transacting private business and selling diamonds to Canadians for arms and ammunition. The witness agreed that Ba sold diamonds to Canadians but they were for the purchase or satelite phones, computers and other items, but not for arms and ammunition. The witness also denied defence suggestions that Ba purchased arms and ammunition from Burkina Faso.

Johnny Paul Koroma

The witness stated that he first met Johnny Paul Koroma in 1997. He further admitted knowlege of Issa Sesay seizing diamonds from Johnny Paul Koroma and the subsequent taking of his(Johnny Paul) wife from him. The witness, however, denied knowlege of defence claims that Johnny Paul’s wife was raped and sexually abused by Mike Lamin.

Amputations

In response to questions of whether the witness saw RUF rebels amputate civilians, the witness said that while he heard of such acts, he was never present to see such a thing. Asked whether he ever heard RUF commanders give orders for such amputations on radio, the witness said, no.

Infighting in the RUF

The witness stated that there was a time when Gibril Massaquoi refused to take orders from Mosquito. Mosquito subsequently ordered the arrest of Massaquoi which led to some infighting in the RUF between the supporters of both commanders. The witness said the same thing happened when problems ensued between Superman and Issa Sesay.

Sam Bockarie

The witness agreed with defence counsel that Sam Bockarie was opposed to the Lome Peace Agreement.  Witness, however, diasgreed with defence counsel that Bockarie was forced to leave the RUF. According to the witness, Bockarie left the RUF voluntarily and went to Liberia. Upon arrival in Liberia, witness admitted knowledge of a meeting with Bockarie, Obasanjo and Taylor but could not know what the discussions in said meeting were. Asked whether the meeting was meant to prevent Bockarie from going to Sierra Leone until after the disarmament process, the witness said he could not tell but knew that Bockarie travelled to Burkina Faso. Asked whether the meeting was meant for Taylor to smoothen the relationship between Bockarie and Sankoh, the witness said he could not tell. The witness said he was later told that Taylor gave orders for Bockarie and his men to be killed because Taylor wanted to destroy any evidence of links with him. The witness could not say how exactly Bockarie was killed.

Witness’s Involvement in Battle against MODEL Rebels in Liberia

The witness admitted that he fought for the Liberian government against MODEL rebels in Liberia. Asked whether he had said this when making statements to the Office of the Prosecutor, the witness said he did not do so because he was not asked about that.

January 1999 Invasion of Freetown

Defence counsel asked whether it was Bockarie who gave orders for the invasion on Freetown. The witness said Bockarie gave no such orders. He said, however, that when Gullit led his troops into Freetown, Bockarie gave orders to Issa Sesay to advance with reinforcement and join Gullit in Freetown. Witness accepted the Gullit was not a member of the RUF. Asked whether the attack was an RUF attack, the witness said it was an AFRC operation but that the RUF had orders to join them. He said that RUF also had plans to attack Freetown.

Records of Diamonds mined by the RUF.

Defence counsel asked that the witness be shown two exercise books which had records of diamonds mined by the RUF. The witness admitted he had knowledge of said books and records. The witness said that the purpose of the records was to give detailed report to Sankoh about the diamonds that were mined while he was in prison. The defence suggested that because of such records, if Bockarie sold diamonds for his own purpose, Sankoh would have known. The witness agreed.

Johnny Paul Koroma’s Meeting with Foday Sankoh

Asked whether he knew of any meeting between Sankoh and Johnny Paul Koromo that was facilitated by the US Embassy in Liberia, the witness said that while he knew of such meeting, he could not say whether the US ambassador was present. The witness said that after the signing of the Lome Peace Accord, Sankoh and Johnny Paul boarded the same flight for Freetown but could not say who provided the flight.

Taylor’s Role in the release of UN Hostages

The witness agreed with defence counsel that Taylor was instrumental in negotiating the release of UN hostages. Asked whether he knew that Sankoh was not happy for the release of the hostages because he expected Issa Sesay to use them as bargaining tools to secure his(Sankoh) release, the witness said he could not remember that.

Rape Charges Against the Witness at Sierra Rutile

Defence counsel put it to the witness that in 1994, the witness raped one Lucy Yorma and that Sankoh ordered the he be tried before the People’s Court. Defence further put it to the witness that he was found guilty, demoted from Major to Private, and locked up in prison for one month with hard labour. The witness insisted that no such thing happened. Defence also put it to the witness that because Lucy was a virgin when the witness raped her, he was forced to marry her and that when he continued to maltreat Lucy as his wife, Lucy complained and Issa ordered that the witness be flogged. The witness also denied the assertion. The witness said that the only time Issa ordered that he be flogged was when he was accused of having told Superman of diamonds that were sent to Eddie Kanneh in Liberia.

Witness’s Meeting with Taylor

The witness said that Memunatu Deen, Benjamin Yeaten and the witness met with Charles Taylor and he received them at night wearing his pyjamas. Defence put it to the witness that no such meeting took place.

Witness’s Statement to the Office of the Prosecutor

Defence asked the witness whether he testified against Taylor because he was paid. Witness said no. He said he testified because Taylor killed Mosquito and many other Sierra Leoneans and since he has knowlege of the crimes with which Taylor is charged, he should be able to help the world to know the truth. The witness said he only fought for Taylor against MODEL because if he had refused, Yeaten would have killed him.

Cross Examination of the witness came to an end

Re-Examination by Prosecution

Prosecutor Brenda Hollis sought to clarify certain dates that had come up during cross-examination. The witness confirmed that in January, February and March of 1998, he was based at Superman Ground in Kono. The witness also clarified that while he was not present to see any RUF amputations, he heard of such acts by the RUF in 1996. Asked about the books earlier shown to him which contained records of diamonds mined by the RUF, the witness stated that private mining activities by RUF commanders were not recorded.

There were no questions from the judges. This ended the testimony of Witness TF1-567.

Prosecution Leads New Witness TF1-388, Jabati Jaward

Before the witness’s testimony, prosecutor Mohamed Bangura sought to rescind earlier protective measures that had been granted to the witness and indicated that the witness was ready to testify in open session with no protective measures.

Witness’s Encounter with and Capture by the RUF in 1991

In his testimony, the witness explained how he first encountered the RUF rebels when they attacked Pendembu in 1991. The witness said he was taken to the training base where he was first trained as an SBU, but transferred to train with adults after two weeks where he served as clerk. The witness said the training commandant was Charles Timba, who was a Liberian. The witness said he was sent to the frontlines but later returned to Pendembu where he worked with the G-2 unit of the RUF.

The court adhourned for the day.

Prosecution invited a new witness TF1-388, Jabati Jaward.

The witness spoke about his encounter with RUF rebels in 1991 when they just entered into Sierra Leone. Witness spoke of his training at the Pendembu Training base, his later work with the G-2 Unit and his subsequent deployment to the front line.

Court adjourned for the day.

The court resumed after the lunch break and prosecution continued the re-examination of witness TF1-567.

The court went into private session for re-examination. In open session, the witness stated that he heard of RUF amputations in 1996. Witness also spoke of the mining record keeping books that the RUF had.

There were no questions from the judges.